


boyfriends tell the truth

by mm_WoD08



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s03e02 The Mall Rats, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Rating changed to T for swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-08-13 07:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20170723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mm_WoD08/pseuds/mm_WoD08
Summary: Mike didn’t think his day could get any worse.He started the morning by lying to El, the person he treasured most in the world. He then spent the afternoon on a fruitless hunt for a gift for said girlfriend – and quickly realized that $3.50 would get him absolutely nowhere. And now, just as he was beginning to wallow in self-pity while contemplating the series of unfortunate events that had tragically befallen him, who should turn up at Starcourt Mall with Max but El herself?Of course she would.AKA an AU fic in which El realizes whoactuallyneeds 'the medicine'.





	1. the mall rats (redux)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to everyone who checked out my first story! The response was amazing! :) This is another "fix-it" fic, this time set in season 3, episode 2: The Mall Rats. I wanted to explore the idea of El finding out about Hopper's role in Mike's weird behaviour (before she got mad at Mike for the conversation she overheard later on in the Void).
> 
> Enjoy!

_“What is wrong with you?! You know she’s not allowed to be here!”_

Mike didn’t think his day could get any worse. He started the morning by lying to El, the person he treasured most in the world. He then spent the afternoon on a fruitless hunt for a gift for said girlfriend – and quickly realized that $3.50 would get him absolutely nowhere. And now, just as he was beginning to wallow in self-pity while contemplating the series of unfortunate events that had tragically befallen him, who should turn up at Starcourt Mall with Max but El herself? _Of course she would._

_How could Max let El come to the mall when she knew the risks?_ He thought angrily. As much as Mike disliked Hopper and his annoying rules, he couldn’t help but admit that the Chief’s reasoning for why he still insisted on limiting El’s freedom was valid, at least for the present. If they weren’t careful, the Bad Men could easily come back and find her. El being here at the mall amongst so many people made him uneasy. 

“What is she, your little pet?” Max accused him. _What?_ He thought cluelessly. _Ugh. Max._

“Yeah,” El scowled. “Am I your pet?” Mike’s eyes widened in disbelief. _How could she even begin to think that-_

“What? No!” He said defiantly.

“Then why do you treat me like garbage?” _Huh?!_

“What?”

“You said Nana was sick.” _Crap_, Mike thought frantically. This whole ‘Nana being sick’ excuse really wasn’t doing him any favours.

“She is.” He argued. At El’s doubtful stare, Mike doubled-down on the lie. “She is – she _is_ sick!” 

“That’s why we’re here, actually.” Lucas helpfully added. 

“Yeah, we’re shopping - not for us, but for her, for Nana.” Mike explained. He tried to ignore Max as she stared at him with disdain. She knew he was full of shit.

He gulped, peering at El beseechingly. “Also… we’re here to get a gift for you. Just - we couldn’t find anything that suited you, and I only have, like, $3.50, so it’s hard.” He looked down in shame. 

“Super hard. It’s expensive.” Lucas defended him. But El didn’t seem to care. Brow furrowed, she ignored Lucas’ words and took a small step towards her boyfriend.

“You lie. Why do you lie?” She questioned accusingly. _Hurt_. 

Mike hesitated at the heartbroken look she sent him. He hated himself for it but he couldn’t tell El the truth. Not about this – not if he didn’t want Hopper to stop him from seeing her for good. That would _break_ him, he knew. He averted his eyes from hers, trying to maintain a neutral expression on his face. _You can do this_, he told himself unconvincingly.

As El slowly moved closer towards him, he eyed her warily, his heartbeat suddenly pounding in his ears. _What is she thinking?_ He wondered, glancing nervously at the half-finished ice-cream cone in her hand.

She stepped closer, leaning into his personal space and giving him no chance to avoid her glare. 

_“I dump your ass.”_ She declared coldly. _Oh my god,_ Mike panicked. _Is this actually happening right now?_ He cursed the day he ever met Hopper – _that bastard_. This was all his fault! 

He watched as El turned from him, linking arms with Max and striding confidently towards the town bus. As she headed further and further away from him, his resolve finally broke. _He’d sell out the Chief to El any day of the week._

“Hopper made me do it!” Mike blurted out, squeezing his eyes shut and cringing. Lucas elbowed him roughly in his side, giving him an incredulous look. Hopper would undoubtedly kill him when he found out Mike caved.

El froze mid-step. Max rolled her eyes and tugged insistently at the girl’s arm, but she ignored her and turned to look back at her now-former boyfriend.

“What?” She asked warily.

He sighed. There was no going back now. “Hopper. He threatened me –”

“Oh yeah, sure Mike.” Max scoffed. “The big bad Chief of police told you to lie to his daughter and break her heart. That’s _bullshit!_ You _clearly_ just wanted to hang out with the guys at the mall and have fun without your girlfriend -”

“Max, c’mon…” Lucas protested weakly.

“That’s not true!” Mike vehemently argued back. Turning towards El, he pleaded with her. “El, you know I would never blow you off like that. _Never_. You have to believe me.” 

El looked into his eyes, searching. “You lie?” She asked him cautiously. 

“No! No way!”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “…What did Hopper say?” 

Mike exhaled in relief. _At least she was willing to hear him out._ “He locked me in his car and he told me that if I didn’t stop spending so much time with you, he’d stop me from seeing you. For good! He-he made me promise not to hang out with you today.”

El frowned, her fist tightening around her ice-cream cone. “He…he lied about Nana?”

“Yeah…he did.” Mike finally admitted. “So did I. I’m so, _so_ sorry El. I know friends don’t lie.” Just as he was about to reach out and place a tentative hand on her shoulder in comfort, he stopped as his gaze – and the gazes of their friends - were drawn to his bike, which was starting to rattle on the ground next to him. “…El?”

El followed his gaze towards his bike and abruptly relaxed when she realized her powers were the source of the ruckus. “Sorry. I just…I can’t believe Hop did this. After-after everything that happened. Last year.”

Mike released another heavy sigh. “Yeah. I know.” He agreed. “El, you gotta know I would never willingly lie to you. _Never you._” He took her hand tenderly in his own.

El looked at him fondly and nodded. “I believe you.” Her cheeks dimpled as she leaned up to kiss him sweetly. “We need to go find Hop. What he did was bad.”

“Oh-oh I don’t know El, he’s going to be totally pissed at me –”

“Mike.” She interrupted the beginnings of his ramble.

“Yeah?”

“Hop can’t do this to us. He can’t separate us – not again. I-I can’t – _I won’t_ – go another 353 days without you.” El said fervently. Mike was horrified to realize her eyes had begun to well up with tears.

His gaze softened. “No, El. _Of course not_ – me neither.” He reassured her, looping his arms around her waist and leaning his forehead against hers.

Will stared at Mike and El, unimpressed, and then turned to whisper in Lucas’ ear. “…Can we go play D&D now?” He hissed, impatient.

Lucas buried his head in his hands and groaned. “Yeah, okay, sure. He wryly replied. “Hey Max, you wanna come over to my house and hang?”

Max also glanced briefly towards Mike and El and then huffed good-naturedly. _She could always hang out with El another day, she supposed._ “Yeah, I guess that sounds cool.” She agreed. “Let’s go, stalker.”

The three teens mutually decided to leave Starcourt Mall without their friends, but the young couple in question paid them no mind. As per usual, they were in their own world.

Mike hesitated. “El?”

“Yes?” She replied, her lips quirking up a little.

“…Are you-are you still planning on dumping me?”

She rolled her eyes affectionately. “No, Mike.”

“Do you-do you forgive me? For lying? I _promise_ I won’t do it again.” He swore.

“Yes.” El confirmed, reaching up to peck her boyfriend lightly on the lips. “I forgive you. But…if you do it again – I give you the medicine.”

“Huh?” _What medicine?_ He thought in confusion.

But the girl didn’t reply, only giggling to herself and hiding her face in his neck, giddy. _Mike was adorable._ El was happy that they were still together. She highly doubted that she could’ve _actually_ broken up with him for long.

_But they had to talk to Hopper about what he had done_, she thought with determination, frowning. Maybe _he_ was the one that needed the medicine…


	2. hell (with a hangover)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hopper wakes up at the cabin with a terrible hangover from _Enzo's_. Luckily, El (among others) is there to give him 'the medicine'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. :) Well, here’s Chapter 2! Thank you so much for all your comments and kudos so far, I’ve really enjoyed reading your reactions!
> 
> Enjoy!

_Eugh._

Jim groaned, scrubbing his face tiredly beneath the tepid spray of the shower. Despite the many, many instances in which he had been drunk in the past, he didn’t think he’d had a hangover this excruciatingly painful before. _I guess that’s just par for the course when Joyce Byers stands you up,_ he bitterly reflected. 

Shutting off the water and stepping out of the stall, Hopper wrapped a towel around his waist haphazardly and trudged towards the kitchen. Blearily yanking the fridge open and grabbing some milk, he casually scanned the fridge door after slamming it shut. As he drank straight from the carton, he realized that he didn’t see any new notes from El. _Shit,_ he thought guiltily, turning to glance towards his daughter’s closed bedroom door. If she was home, he had probably woken her up this morning with all the noise he was making. As far as he knew, she was still stewing over Mike blowing her off the day before.

Hopper tried to muster up feelings of remorse for engineering Mike and El’s little spat, but he couldn’t - not really. _This’ll be good for her,_ he insisted to himself, brushing aside any doubt. _She’s been spending way too much time over the last six months making out with that boy._ As far as he was concerned, he was completely justified in trying to quell her obsession with the floppy-haired teenage punk. 

_Besides,_ Jim thought, _he had more important things to dwell on_. Like Joyce embarrassing him last night when she was a no-show at _Enzo’s_ for their date. He winced at the thought of just how much red wine he had guzzled down in the aftermath of leaving the restaurant. But before he could reach for more extra strength pain medication to cure his hangover, he was interrupted by loud pounding at the front door – made _extra_ thunderous thanks to his aching head. 

As he stumbled towards the entryway, the knocking remained consistently obnoxious. 

“Hey! Hang on! Alright, alright, I’m coming already!” Jim yelled, taking a moment to adjust his towel. _It had better be Joyce coming over to apologize,_ he groused, wrenching the door open. 

But it wasn’t Joyce – _it was the Wheeler kid._ Hopper groaned. _Great, just the person he wanted to see when he was already feeling less-than spectacular_. 

“What are you doing here, kid?” _Wasn’t his threat of separating him and El sufficient enough to keep Mike away for one day at the very least?_ He bemoaned.

“I’m here to see El,” Mike replied in a rush, determined not to let the Chief terrorize him. He paused to really observe Hopper for the first time and abruptly shielded his eyes, horrified. “Ew! Geez man, put on some clothes!”

Hopper was about to let Mike know just whose house he was barging into but was interrupted by the sound of El’s door opening and the girl in question padding out into the living room, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“Hi, Mike” she greeted, glancing between her boyfriend and her father. “Oh. You’re here.” She addressed the latter begrudgingly. When Mike had dropped her home the evening before, the Chief had not been present – much to Mike’s relief. Hopper couldn’t help but notice the hint of accusation in her tone.

“Yeah…” He trailed off awkwardly, scratching his neck. He cleared his throat and went to his bedroom to put on a pair of pants and a shirt. “Joyce and I had dinner plans last night, so I came home a little later.” _There was no way he was telling El – and her little boyfriend – what had actually happened._ It would only give Wheeler more ammunition.

El seemed to ignore his words, brushing past Hopper as he rejoined them in the entryway to stand next to Mike. She joined hands with the boy, sending him a warm smile before focusing the heat of her glare back on Hopper.

“What?” Jim asked her in exasperation. _He was way too hungover to deal with these two today._ “Hey Wheeler, I thought your Nana was sick?” He hinted pointedly. 

He noticed the teen’s shoulders stiffen at his reference to their agreed-upon story but before he could respond, El cut in. “Is Mike’s Nana really…not well?” She demanded sharply, still staring at her dad.

“I think so, kid. But Mike’s here, ask him yourself.”

“You're…you’re _lying._” 

“_Excuse me?_” Hopper exclaimed incredulously, raising his eyebrows. _He swore, if Mike had told her anything-_

But El refused to back down. “_You. LIE!_” She shouted in fury. Mike squeezed her hand in warning as some of the furniture around them began to shudder with her rage. “El…” He said nervously. “Y-you need to calm down-”

“H-HEY! El, stop this! Stop it right now!” Jim yelled, his temper also flaring. 

El closed her eyes briefly, her free hand clenching into a fist. Taking a few deep breaths, she managed to gain back control over her powers again. Mike let out a relieved sigh when all the items not already nailed to the cabin floor abruptly stopped quaking. 

“Why…-why did you _th-threaten_ Mike not to see me yesterday?” The teenage girl asked lowly.

Hopper pinched his nose in frustration. _He was going to kill Wheeler._ “Look kid – you’ve been seeing him constantly – _constantly!_ – ever since last November. It’s not healthy, okay?! All you guys do is kiss in your room all day and I’ve had it up to here! You guys need to spend some time apart – I’m putting my foot down.” He growled.

“No!” Mike and El both shouted fiercely.

“Wha- _no?_ What do you mean, _no_?” The Chief fixed his glare on Mike. “Wheeler, you need to leave now-”

“No! No way! I won’t let you separate us again! Not like last time.” Mike argued back. _"I can't lose her again."_ He added with conviction. 

Jim groaned, thinking back to six months ago and Mike’s devastated – not to mention, _violent_ \- response to the discovery that he had been hiding El beneath his nose for almost an entire year. _Maybe his threat towards the kid had been a little too harsh,_ he considered reluctantly. 

Running a hand through his hair, the Chief sighed. “Look kid, I didn’t actually mean –”

But before he could continue attempting to diffuse the situation, they were interrupted by yet more frantic knocking at the front door, making them all jump. Jim exhaled in relief, crossing the room to see who the visitor was. _Anything to distract away from this hellish conversation,_ he thought darkly. 

“Hopper? Are you there?” 

_Fuck!_ His brain yelled as he recognized the familiar voice. He closed his eyes and desperately prayed for patience as he opened the door. 

_It was Joyce._

“We need to talk,” said the woman in question, barging her way into the house in a frenzy. However, before she could mention her dysfunctional magnets, she was suddenly halted by the sight of Mike and El standing further inside the cabin.

“Oh -! Hey kids.” She greeted them kindly.

“Hello Mrs. Byers.” Mike said distractedly.

“Hi…Joyce,” muttered El.

Joyce hesitated, noticing the thick tension in the room for the first time. Clearly, she had interrupted something.

“Is…is everything okay?” She addressed everyone, raising her eyebrows. _Maybe the potential conspiracy involving her magnets would have to wait a few minutes more…_

“Fine - everything’s _perfectly fine-_” Hopper began bitingly. _Boy, she had some nerve showing up here…_

“_No,_ it isn’t.” El cut her father off and pointed a finger at him accusingly. “He…lied to me - _to us_. He wants to keep Mike and me apart.”

“Oh…” Joyce realized. So Hopper had had ‘the talk’ with her and Mike then. Evidently, it seemed that it hadn’t gone according to plan. _Maybe he had forgotten parts of it?_ She mused. “Sweetie, I think your father just wants to create some boundaries-”

“Bound-a-ries?” El asked quizzically, struggling to pronounce the word. Joyce couldn’t help but notice Jim freeze up in the corner of her eye. 

“Yeah El, boundaries. You know…w-well- didn’t Hopper sit down and discuss those with you and Mike a couple days ago?”

_“Discuss?!”_ Mike scoffed. “He locked me in his car and threatened to keep me from seeing El - _forever_ \- if I didn’t make up an excuse and tell her I couldn’t hang out yesterday!” 

"And I almost...dumped his ass," El said regretfully. "Because Hop _made_ him treat me like garbage." Mike blushed a little at her choice of words. 

“What?” Joyce wheeled around to stare at Jim in disbelief, narrowing her gaze. “_Hopper!_ What happened to the speech you prepared?” She demanded.

“I-I-” Jim sputtered, losing his temper. “I couldn’t speak to them, Joyce! You should’ve seen the look Wheeler was giving me – the utter disrespect -! Threatening him was the _only way_ I could get through to him, trust me!” _That smug, son of a bitch._ He scowled at the memory.

“And what about El, huh? _Your own daughter._” Joyce argued, gesturing towards the teenage girl. “What – you were just okay with her being heartbroken because of what you did and Mike taking all of the blame for it?”

Hopper was just about to rashly reply in the affirmative, but Joyce wasn’t finished yet.

“How could you even _think_ of trying to pull this on them after what they both went through last year? You _knew_ how hurt El was at not being able to visit Mike and all of her friends!” _In fact, no one could forget the powerful scene that took place in the Byers’ living room when Mike and El reunited._ Joyce never knew that two kids as young as they were could look so equally heartbroken and traumatized at the sight of one another.

The Chief looked away in shame. He had no words to defend his actions. A tense silence proceeded to overtake the room. “I…would’ve told her _eventually,_” he mumbled out weakly. “In a couple weeks, tops.”

El wasn’t satisfied with his answer, however. “You will _never_ take Mike away from me…_ever_ again.” She declared emphatically, tightening her grip on her boyfriend’s hand. “_I…love him._” 

Everyone froze at her words. 

_She loves him?_ Joyce thought in amazement, internally cooing at how adorable El was.

_She loves him?!_ Hopper thought incredulously, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. _Damn melodramatic teenagers._

_Oh my god, she loves me._ Mike thought breathlessly in shock.

El leaned into Mike’s side and looked up at him adoringly. _She loved him._ “Let’s go.” The girl said, wrinkling her nose. _She couldn’t bear to be in the same room as Hop right now._ Mike nodded readily in agreement and tugged on her hand, opening the door for her and following her outside in a daze. No one could miss the big, love-sick grin now plastered on his face.

“El- El wait!” Hopper pleaded. But El didn’t look back, continuing to walk hand-in-hand with Mike away from the cabin. “I will be home tonight.” She called out defiantly over her shoulder.

_Shit._ He thought, rubbing his forehead in frustration. Joyce was no help, only staring at him and shaking her head in disappointment. He was chagrined to realize that in this moment he couldn’t even focus on how pissed off he was with her about _Enzo’s._

_How was he ever going to fix this?_ He contemplated miserably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this was very therapeutic, lol. Let me know what you thought - comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> I really didn't like the way that Hopper was characterized this season, so I wanted there to be some consequences for his actions (i.e. losing his temper and choosing to threaten Mike rather than sitting him and El down in the first place and giving the speech he had prepared).
> 
> Hope you liked the story so far! If you did, kudos and comments are appreciated - I'd love to hear your feedback. :) Thanks!


End file.
